Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s refusal to impose parking restrictions on Mrs X’s road because there is not enough evidence of fault.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains the Council has not properly resolved her complaint about cars parking in front of her property and preventing her access. She has since moved out but is caused stress when visiting her son as there is no space to get her wheelchair to the front door.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
3. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

4. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by Mrs X and the Council.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. The Council says it allowed parking on the street in the early 2000s. Mrs X says she bought the property in 2002.
8. Mrs X would have had legal advice at the time of purchase and could have checked the parking arrangements and complained to us at the time. Any complaint about the Council’s original decision to allow parking is late and there is no good reason to exercise discretion. Mrs X could also have avoided any injustice by deciding not to purchase the property. Therefore, I will not investigate the Council’s original decision.
9. The Council’s recent decision not to change parking arrangements is in time. However, I cannot question the Council’s decision unless there is fault in its decision making process. The Council did not have to agree Mrs X’s request, but it had to consider it in line with any policy and give reasons for its decision.
10. The Council’s traffic management policy is published on its website. This says it will review a request to change traffic or parking arrangements when funding allows unless there are immediate safety concerns.
11. Mrs X asked the Council to stop allowing parking on her road. The Council told Mrs X it would review her request when funding allowed in line with its policy. It also explained she should contact the police if she is obstructed from leaving her property or abused by third parties, as these are police matters. There is not enough evidence of fault in the Council’s decision making to justify an investigation.
12. It is not a proportionate use of our resources to investigate the Council’s complaint handling when we are not investigating the substantive issue.

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Final decision

13. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman